by JAMES BROWNING

WIVENHOE Town manager Chris Hudson is confident he is starting to build a side that can be competitive in the Thurlow Nunn League premier division.

Though his side are still propping up the table, Hudson feels they’ve taken big strides in recent weeks, particularly in earning a point away to Kirkley and Pakefield last weekend.

He said: “It was a big long trip to Kirkley and we came into the game off the back of a rollercoaster of a defeat to Thetford.

“But when you’re producing a new team, those games will happen, as we’ve found out in recent weeks.

“We had a tactical meeting ahead of the Kirkley game and started work on a new shape.”

The Dragons drew 1-1 with Kirkley and Pakefield, coming back from behind to secure a vital point.

Hudson said: “I’m starting to get a team together who can compete in this league — we were very good at keeping our shape last weekend and we showed that we could compete against mid-table opposition.

“Going in 0-0 at half-time, we knew we were still in the game and we deserved to be level at the break.

“The second half was very much a 50/50 game. It was very end-to-end but Kirkley scored a good goal to go ahead.

“We created more and more chances as the game went on and our equaliser lifted the whole team.”

Hudson spoke highly of his players’ efforts in earning the point last weekend.

He said: “It was a game where I felt we would have been fortunate to win but also very unfortunate to lose.

“It was the first time I’ve felt like we looked like a team rather than just a group of players.”

Looking ahead to tomorrow’s home game against Haverhill Rovers, Hudson spoke of the need for consistency from his players.

He said: “Last week’s draw is something we’d like to build on.

“What we’re looking for now is consistency and we need to playing more how we did last week.”

The Dragons’ boss is still working on bringing in players, too, and was encouraged by a promising turnout in a friendly on Wednesday night.

He said: “We had a friendly against Tiptree Heath and it was very encouraging.

"We had 11 new trialists play during that game so it was almost like a pre-season game.”

Hudson is hoping that financial backing can come in so that he can access a higher tier of player for his squad, too.

He said: “We’re looking for sponsors, for the team tracksuits, the advertising boards at the ground, matchday sponsors, or someone to invest some money into the players’ budget.

“We’re in negotiations with higher-profile players but the budget is limited so we need some help to bring them in.”